"specialized services" entries

Justin Hall's Passively Multiplayer Online Game concept is an interesting spin on some of the issues with data ownership and the transparent society that we have been blogging about recently. Hall's point is that one of the reasons the web experience is not nearly as absorbing or fulfilling as playing games, is that the web is in fact not paying…

Ross Stapleton-Gray sent me a pointer to a recent NSF grant to support research on the infrastructure needed for wearable computing. From the grant abstract: The next-generation of embedded computing systems will be increasingly human-centric. Embedded devices will operate in an environment where they monitor and react to human activity as opposed to engineering artifacts. Transparent interfaces and implicit modes…

Safari Books Online version 5.0 went live last week. The new version includes a design overhaul and is much more usable than previous versions, in my opinion. Not only do we now have Ajax-based paging (no more tedious page-refresh), we've also adjusted the amount of content shown in both preview and full access mode so that you aren't having to…

The first lightning talk session at Where 2.0 on location sensing: Christopher Schmidt on Geolocation Using GSM Cells. GSM Loc allows you to collaboratively map GSM cell towers using GPS allowing other non-GPS users to approximate position based on signal strength of individual cell towers. OpenStreetMap for cell towers. Jason Kaufman on Gumspots and GSPS. Gumspots is a fantastic crowdpleasing…

In the final Where 2.0 podcast I speak Michael Sharon, CTO of Kamida, a New-York-based mobile company. We focused on Socialight a mobile tagging app which allows users to leave sticky shadows. These are notes, pictures, and audio messages that are tied to a specific location that are accesible from a phone or their website. At Where 2.0, Michael will…

SuperOyster, the Seattle startup that is creating marketplaces for spots in line, has gone alpha. They've created 3 fake marketplaces where you can get a spot in line. "sell" your spot in line, and "buy" a spot in line. The marketplace for the fictional L.A. Stars has over 200 people playing so far. The alpha provides a good feel for…

Laurie Petrycki writes: "A cool mapping mashup that links our French book database with Google maps, hacked by Julien, the French office's sys admin. The book icons are color coded to show the probability of finding the book (click on an icon to see store details). Our sales rep in France has already used the map to encourage bookstores to…

Last year, I accepted membership in a buzz marketing experiment called the Silicon Valley 100, in which people like me who are deemed to be "influencers" are offered various free products to test. I accepted with some misgivings — was I selling out? — but accepted after being assured that there was absolutely no expectation of endorsement of any of…

Recently, I got together with Matt Kowalczyk, the founder and CEO of Seattle-based SuperOyster.com. They are building a merchant service that allows people to sell their spot in line. This sounds whacky until you hear him rattle off the markets where this is applicable: pro football tickets, high-end automobiles, condos, fashion accessories, and exclusive memberships. It also applies very…

The other week I sat down with Leo Dirac of Rhapsody Webservices and he told me a bit about their upcoming plans. They want to be the music listening platform of choice for site-owners. Yesterday, they made a significant step towards this vision when Rhapsody (Real's subscription service) enabled anonymous users to listen to whole albums on demand for free…